INDIAN   NOTES 
!      AND   MONOGRAPHS 


EDITED  BY  F.  VV.  HODGK 


A  SERIES  OF  PUBLICA- 
TIONS RELATING  TO  THE 
AMERICAN  ABORIGINES 


BLADED  WARCLUBS   FROM 
BRITISH   GUIANA 


°f  California 
Facility 


MARSHALL   H.    SAVILLE 


NEW  YORK 

MUSEUM   OF  THE  AMERICAN   INDIAX 

HEYE  FOUNDATION 

1921 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF 
CALIFORNIA 
SAN  DIEGO 


THIS  series  of  INDIAN  NOTES  AND 
MONOGRAPHS  is  devoted  primarily  to 
the  publication  of  the  results  of  studies 
by  members  of  the  staff  of  the  Mus- 
eum of  the  American  Indian,  Heye 
Foundation,  and  is  uniform  with  HIS- 
PANIC NOTES  AND  MONOGRAPHS,  pub- 
lished by  the  Hispanic  Society  of 
America,  with  which  organization  this 
Museum  is  in  cordial  cooperation. 

Only  the  first  ten  volumes  of  INDIAN 
NOTES  AND  MONOGRAPHS  are  numbered. 
The  unnumbered  parts  may  readily  be 
determined  by  consulting  the  List  of 
Publications  issued  as  one  of  the  series. 


INDIAN    NOTES 
AND   MONOGRAPHS 

EDITED  BY  F.  W.  HODGE 


A  SERIES  OF  PUBLICA- 
TIONS RELATING  TO  THE 
AMERICAN  ABORIGINES 


BLADED   WARCLUBS   FROM 
BRITISH    GUIANA 

BY 

MARSHALL   H.    SAVILLE 


NEW   YORK 

MUSEUM    OF   THE   AMERICAN    INDIAN 

HEYE   FOUNDATION 

1921 

»rtc  uwivtKSITY  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  Ur  CALIFORNIA,  SAN 

LA  »oii  A 


SAVILLE BLAOED  WARCLUBS 


ENGRAVED   WARCLUB   WITH    STONE    BLADE 


3 

BLADED    WARCLUBS    FROM 
BRITISH-  GUIANA 

BY  MARSHALL  H.  SAVILLE 

^^>J|EVERAL  types  of  wooden  war- 
\t(l|cJ      clubs  were  formerly  relatively 
^^M^J     common  among  the  tribes  of 

British    Guiana.     They    were 
called  tiki  by  the  Carib  people,  and  Dr 
im  Thurn,  writing  about  forty  years  ago, 
states  that  "they  are  probably  no  longer 
made,  and  are  carried  more  as  ornaments 
than   for  use.     They  are   made  of   hard 
heavy  wood,  and  are  often  highly  orna- 
mented,   being   covered    with    a    pattern 
formed  by  engraving  and  filling  the  lines 
thus  made  with  a  white  earth,  brightly 
polished,   and    neatly   bound   with   large 
quantities  of  red  or  white   cotton  from 
which    fringes    and    streamers,    tasselled 
with  bright-colored  feathers,  hang  loose. 

INDIAN    NOTES 

BRITISH    GUIANA 


Originally,  apparently  they  differed  in 
shape  according  to  the  tribe  which  made 
them;  but  these  differences,  as  in  so 
many  other  similar  cases,  seem  now  to  be 
somewhat  lost,  and  most  of  the  various 
forms  of  tiki  may  be  seen  in  possession 
of  any  one  of  the  tribes.  The  commoner 
forms  are  three  in  number.  One  is  four- 
sided;  that  part  which  is  grasped  in  the 
hand  is  square,  but  from  that  point  the 
sides  gradually  curve  outward,  the  one 
end  much  more  than  the  other,  until 
they  are  abruptly  cut  off  and  end  in 
both  directions  in  flat  surfaces  at  right 
angles  to  the  sides.  This  form  appears 
to  have  been  appropriated  by  the  Macu- 
sis."  After  describing  various  other 
types  of  these  clubs,  he  states,  "From 
specimens  existing  in  English  and  Euro- 
pean museums,  derived  from  Guiana  and 
the  neighboring  parts  of  South  America, 
it  would  appear  that  these  clubs  were 
occasionally  made  yet  more  formidable 
by  the  addition  of  a  stone  axe-blade,  or 
in  later  times  a  similar  blade  of  iron, 
which  was  occasionallv  fixed  into  the 


INDIAN    NOTES 


BLADED    WARCLUBS 


side."  He  says  later  that  "the  few  that 
are  still  to  be  found  in  the  possession  of 
Indians  are  wholly  of  wood.  But  there 
is  a  tradition  that  these  used  to  be  made 
more  formidable  by  the  addition  of  a 
stone  blade."  l  The  extreme  rarity  of 
wooden  clubs  with  stone  blades  embedded 
in  the  wood  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  im 
Thurn,  who  spent  nearly  five  years  in 
British  Guiana  before  writing  his  book, 
and  had  exceptional  opportunities  for 
collecting,  was  able  to  secure  only  a 
single  specimen  of  this  character. 

Bernau2  illustrates  one  of  these  war- 
clubs  in  a  plate  with  other  Indian  weap- 
ons, but  gives  no  account  of  it  (see  our 
fig.  i).  An  early  description  of  these  war- 
clubs  in  Dutch  Guiana,  based  on  observa- 
tions made  from  the  years  1772  to  1777, 
is  given  by  Captain  Stedman,3  who  writes: 
"  I  must  not  forget  that  every  Indian  car- 
ries a  club,  which  they  call  apootoo,  for 
their  defence.  These  clubs  are  made  of 
the  heaviest  wood  in  the  forest;  they  are 
about  eighteen  inches  long,  flat  at  both 
ends,  and  square,  but  heavier  at  one  end 


AND    MONOGRAPHS 


BRITISH    GUIANA 


than  the  other.  In  the  middle  they  are 
thinner,  and  are  wound  about  with  strong 
cotton  threads,  so  as  to  be  grasped,  hav- 
ing a  loop  to  secure  them  round  the  wrist, 
as  the  sword-tassels  are  used  by  some 


FIG.  i. — Warclub  from  British  Guiana  (after   Bernau). 


cavalry.  One  blow  with  this  club,  in 
which  is  frequently  fixed  a  sharp  stone, 
scatters  the  brains.  These  are  used  by  the 
Guiana  Indians  like  the  tomahawk  by  the 
Cherokees,  on  which,  besides  other  hiero- 
glyphical  figures,  they  often  carve  the 
number  of  persons  slain  in  battle.  The 


INDIAN    NOTES 


BLADED    WARCLUBS 


manner  of  fixing  the  stone  in  the  club  or 
apootoo  is  by  sticking  it  in  the  tree  while 
it  is  yet  growing,  where  it  soon  becomes  so 
fast  that  it  cannot  be  forced  out:  after  which 
the  wood  is  cut,  and  shaped 
according  to  fancy."  On  the 
plate  opposite  page  406  Sted- 
man  illustrates  one  of  these 
clubs  with  a  stone  blade  which 
we  here  reproduce  as  fig.  2. 

Warclubs  with  stone  blades 
were  also  formerly  in  use 
among  the  Indians  of  French 
Guiana,  for  Barrere  illustrates 
a  specimen  which  shows  a  tau- 
shaped  blade  mounted  in  a 
long,  slender,  round  handle, 
and  writes  (p.  174),  "  Ordi- 
nairement  c'est  le  Capitaine, 
avec  les  principaux  &  toute  le 
jeunesse,  qui  marchant  en  corps 
d'armee.  bein  munis  de  leurs 
arcs,  filches,  boutous,  haches 
de  pierre,  &  autres  instru- 
mens  de  guerre."  The  illus- 
tration of  a  mounted  stone  axe 


FIG.  2.— 
\VarcIub  from 
Dutch  Gui- 
ana (after 
Stcdman). 


AND    MONOGRAPHS 


BRITISH    GUIANA 


shown  in  fig.  5  of  his  plate,  facing  page 
1 68. 

In  the  Handbook  to  the  Ethno- 
graphical Collections  of  the  British 
Museum,  published  in  1910,  are  illus- 
trated (p.  281)  two  warclubs  with  stone 
blades.  Both  have  cord-wrapped  handles, 
and  one  appears  to  be  engraved. 

The  Museum  of  the  American  Indian, 
Heye  Foundation,  is  exceedingly  fortu- 
nate in  possessing  two  examples  of  this 
type,  and  a  third  specimen  with  an  iron 
blade,  all  received  by  the  generous  gift 
of  Harmon  \V.  Hendricks,  Esq.,  a  trustee 
of  the  Museum.  These  are  illustrated 
in  the  accompanying  plates.  The  most 
interesting  weapon  is  that  shown  in  pi.  I, 
which  is  made  from  a  close-grained,  dark- 
reddish  wood,  well-rubbed  down  and 
polished;  it  is  16^  in.  long,  the  upper 
part  of  the  four  sides  of  the  rectangular 
expanding  club  being  covered  with  the 
delicately  engraved  design  shown  in  pi. 
II.  There  are  at  present  no  traces  of 
pigment  filling  the  lines.  Around  the 
handle,  the  part  to  be  grasped  by  the 


INDIAN    NOTES 


SAVILLE  —  BLAOCO  WARCLUBS 


LTD  Of 


cm 


ENGRAVING   ON   THE    FOUR   SIDE 


1 0  [         ,j  PlusssssslP 


'HE   WARCLUB   SHOWN    IN    PLATE    I 


BLADED    WARCLUBS 


hand  is  covered  by  a  tightly-wound, 
coarse  cotton  thread,  and  in  addition 
there  is  a  woven  cord  forming  a  loop 
tied  loosely  in  such  a  manner  as  to  be 
placed  round  the  wrist.  A  stone  blade 
of  the  petaloid  type,  so  commonly  found 
in  the  West  Indies,  projects  i%  in. 
from  the  wood.  It  is  a  hard,  compact, 
black  stone  resembling  diorite,  and  is 
identical  with  the  greater  number  of 
petaloid  celts  from  Porto  Rico. 

The  second  example,  illustrated  in  pi. 
in,  is  171/2  in.  in  length,  and  the  stone 
blade  projects  2}^  in.  This  specimen  is 
not  carved,  but  it  is  polished,  and  is 
made  from  the  same  kind  of  wood  as  the 
first  example.  It  has  a  wrapping  around 
the  handle,  with  two  tassels  of  many 
cotton  strands,  and  a  wrist  loop  made  of 
coarse  threads  loosely  twisted  on  the 
opposite  side.  The  blade  is  of  a  greenish 
stone,  not  so  hard  as  the  other. 

The  last  specimen,  illustrated  in  pi.  iv, 
is  also  of  the  same  kind  of  wood,  and  is 
polished  but  not  carved.  It  is  16  in. 
long,  and  has  an  iron  blade  projecting 


AND    MONOGRAPHS 


10 


BRITISH    GUIANA 


i ^3  inches  from  the  club.  It  also  has  a 
wrapping  around  the  handle,  with  a  loop, 
and  two  long  strings  hanging  from  the 
opposite  side. 

The  specimens  of  Guiana  warclubs  in 
the  Museum  of  the  American  Indian, 
Heye  Foundation,  were  procured  in 
London  and  were  unquestionably  col- 
lected many  years  ago.  It  is  doubtful 
if  at  present  any  weapons  of  this  type 
are  to  be  found  in  British  Guiana.  The 
expedition  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania Museum  under  the  direction  of 
Dr  W.  C.  Farabee,  during  the  long  time 
spent  in  the  country  collected  no  speci- 
mens of  this  type.  The  writer  has  seen 
several  other  examples  of  this  class  in 
European  museums,  but  they  must  be 
considered  as  among  the  rarest  ethno- 
logical objects  from  South  America. 

It  is  interesting  to  compare  the  style  of 
mounting  of  these  British  Guiana  war- 
clubs  with  those  from  the  West  Indies. 
In  the  writer's  study  of  Monolithic  Axes 
and  their  Distribution  in  Ancient  Am- 
erica5 will  be  found  an  illustration  of  the 


INDIAN    NOTES 


SAVILLE BLAOEO  WARCLUBS 


WARCLUB  WITH   STONE  BLADE 


BLADED    WARCLUBS 


11 


only  known  example,  from  the  Antillean 
area,  of  a  petaloid  celt  still  in  the  original 
wooden  handle.  A  number  of  monolithic 
stone  axes  are  figured,  and,  as  in  the  celt 
in  the  wooden  handle,  all  show  the  poll 
of  the  blade  protruding  through  the 
handle,  which  is  rounded;  whereas  the 
handles  of  the  British  Guiana  examples 
are  squared,  and  the  celts  are  imbedded 
in  the  handles,  and  probably  do  not 
extend  more  than  half  the  distance 
through  the  wood.  The  socket  into 
which  the  stone  blade  of  the  club  shown 
in  pi.  I  is  fixed,  is  squared,  and  the  celt 
seems  to  be  held  firmly  in  place  by  a 
coarse  gum.  The  specimen  illustrated 
in  pi.  II  is  sunk  into  the  wood  by  a  socket 
cut  to  the  shape  of  the  stone  blade,  and 
fits  closely.  Both  blades,  however,  fit 
so  tightly  that  they  cannot  be  removed 
without  injury  to  the  specimens. 

In  our  study  cited  above6  we  figure  two 
monolithic  axes  from  the  province  of 
Santa  Marta,  Colombia,  in  which  the 
poll-end  of  the  blades  are  represented  as 
embedded  in  the  handle,  and  not  passing 


AND    MONOGRAPHS 


12 

BRITISH   GUIANA 

through.     These  blades,  however,  are  not 

of   the   petaloid   type,    and   the   same   is 

true    of    the    stone    axes    embedded    in 

wooden  handles  from  the  Guaiqui  Indians 

of    Brazil,    which    have    been    illustrated 

by  von  Ihering.7 

NOTES 

i.  im  Thurn,  E.  F.,  Among  the  Indians  of  Guiana. 

Being   sketches   chiefly   anthropologic   from 

the  interior  of  British  Guiana,  pp.  298-300, 

425-426,  London,  1883. 

2.    Bernau,  J.  H.,  Missionary  Labours  in  British 

Guiana,  London,  1847. 

3.   Stedman,   J.    G.,  Narrative  of  a  Five   Years 

Expedition  Against  the  Revolted    Negroes 

of  Surinam   in   Guiana,   on   the  Wild   Coast 

of    South    America,    vol.    i,    chap,    xv,   pp. 

396-397,  London,  1796. 

4.    Barrere,    Pierre,    Nouvelle    Relation     de     la 

France,  Equinoxale,  Paris,  1743. 

5.  Saville,  Marshall  H.,  Monolithic  axes  and  their 

distribution    in  ancient   America,    Contribu- 

tions  from    the    Museum    of   the    American 

Indian,  Heye  Foundation,  vol.  n,  no.  6,  pi.  n, 

4,  New  York,  1916. 

6.  Ibid.,  pi.  v,  nos.  i,  2. 

7.  von  Ihering,  Hermann,  Os  machados  de  pcdra 

dos   Indies  do  Brasil  e  o  seu  emprego  das 

derrubadas  de    Mato,  Separado   da   Rev.  do 

Inst.  Hist,  de  S.  Paulo,  vol.  xn,  1907,  fig.  2-3. 

INDIAN    NOTES 

SAVILLE BLADEO  WARCLUBS 


WARCLUB  WITH    IRON    BLADE 


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